


Restless Sinner

by nottonyharrison



Series: Pythagorean Fidelity [1]
Category: Stephanie Plum - Janet Evanovich
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2017-11-05 23:26:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottonyharrison/pseuds/nottonyharrison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She made her choice and was left empty handed. Now there is another fly in the ointment and she's been left bewildered and scratching her head yet again. A Steph/Ranger and Steph/Lester story.  Part one in the Pythagorean Fidelity series</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restless Sinner

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Restless Sinner
> 
> Pairing(s): Steph/Lester, Steph/Ranger
> 
> Rating: M
> 
> Genre: I have no idea... Romance/Angst/Humour/Drama?
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> A/N: Yay for another outing in the Plum universe! As usual, it's a bit weird and you have to do a some reading between the lines, but you get rewarded this time with sort of smut. I say sort of because I'm not one for writing four pages of super descriptive porn. It makes me blush, so you get a lot of foreplay. Also, I know you all like Lester using the term 'beautiful' to refer to Steph. I'm deviating from that fanon. Soz. Also, yes there will be (potentially more than one) sequel
> 
> A massive thanks to Lori (latetolove) for the faboosh beta work, and for the great advice to push me towards writing a better ending.

**Restless Sinner**

 

 

 

**...........**

"I feel stupid"

Ranger's glance slid sideways at his companion as she bristled in her black ensemble. She was crouched behind an air conditioning unit on the top of a low rise office building, unsuccessfully attempting to get comfortable in her Kevlar and Gore-Tex clothing combination.

"You don't look stupid."

She sat down on the cold asphalt and stuck her legs out directly in front of her, knocking her feet together, apparently enjoying the dull thud of the steel toes clunking against one another.

"I was going to say you look fucking sexy, but now you just look like a broken action figure."

"Ugh, try again. I'm not falling for your blunt professions of lust anymore." Tugging at the Velcro at the sides of her vest, she grinned as the hooks and loops gave with a loud  _rrrrriiiip_. Ranger reached out and stopped her movement, hissing his displeasure. "What? It's not like anyone can hear us down there anyway."

"You never know who's around, Steph."

"Oh, for crying out loud.  _Seriously?_ " She slapped the thick strip back against the side of the vest and huffed. "Sound echoes upwards in the city, did you not learn that in Special Forces?"

He remained silent and returned his eyes to the binoculars he had trained on the building across the street.

"I don't get why we're even here. What kind of moron corporate spy turns up at a rival company's headquarters at one in the morning at the front entrance in their own car anyway?" She rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of her cargoes for a slightly squashed packet of Kreamies.

"The kind of moron whose husband pays us over two million bucks a year to make sure nobody gets hold of his source code, that's who," Ranger replied, biting his lip and grinning a little. An eyebrow lifted, and he passed the binoculars to his companion, who groaned a little as she shifted into a better position to view the street. "You were saying?"

Her eyes came across a dark Maserati, clearly visible through the quality lens of the binoculars. She grumbled a little and tugged her walkie from its place on her chest. "Rangeman two move in, over."

_"On my way. Out"_

The Kreamies lay forgotten as they looked over the edge of the rooftop, watching a dark figure move down the street towards the car which had come to a stop outside the entrance to the building.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to do the contact bit," Stephanie grumbled, her curiosity outweighing the annoyance she felt at being wrong.

"Delegation, Babe."

She turned her head sharply and swivelled on her knees. "So you would rather sit up here on a freezing cold rooftop than in a nice warm Explorer? Forgive me if I don't understand your logic."

Ranger pulled the binoculars back to his eyes and grinned. "Nah, I just don't like mugging women." He chuckled as the dark figure grabbed the woman's handbag and ran off down the street as fast as his feet would carry him, taking a hard left at the next corner where the aforementioned warm and toasty SUV would be waiting. "Santos hates it, too."

"So this is the cruel and unusual punishment you decided to assign him? Mugging a trophy wife?" She was still watching the street, amused grin playing around the corners of her mouth as the woman attempted to run after Lester in what appeared to be six inch spike heels.

"Babe. The way he had you up against the ropes the other day was less than appropriate."

"Who said I wasn't enjoying it?"

"Were you?"

Stephanie chuckled to herself and gave him her best Mona Lisa smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He turned back to the street and watched the woman get back into her car, his jaw clenching a little as she drove away. "Here's hoping that flash drive was in her handbag." A crackle came from Stephanie's walkie, and the answer to the implied question drifted across the airwaves.

_"Article aquired. Over."_

_"Copy that. Out"_

"You have no right to be jealous, you know."

He ignored her and started packing up his equipment methodically, checking that every strap was fastened and each dome was snapped. She was still sitting against the air conditioning unit when he stood to leave.

"I'm not fucking Lester, if that's what you're wondering. Not that it's any of your business."

"You can do whatever you like, Babe."

"Good, because I would really  _like_  to do Lester."

"Fine."

"That's it?  _Fine?_ "

"What else were you expecting?"

"Oh, I don't know... maybe  _oh Babe, Santos is just playing with you, you'll just be another in a long line of floozies,_  or  _Don't bang Santos, his cock isn't as big as mine._ "

"How would you know how big Santos' cock is?"

"Just speculating."

"Honestly, Stephanie. You can do what you like." He picked up the duffel bag filled with their gear and moved towards the door that led back to the stairwell. He didn't look back as he tossed his parting remark. "You're the one who decided to end whatever the hell was going on here anyway."

...

A slim leg was slung over the side of the comforter, despite the cool air in the apartment. Her eyes were open and staring unfocussed towards the ceiling, blinking from time to time but only when they were so dry she could feel her lids scraping against her corneas.

She rolled over with more force than was necessary and let out a breath. Her eyes fixed on the narrow strip of light peeking between her curtains, and she groaned, going back to laying spread eagle on her back.

A beep came from the night stand and she glanced over at her phone. Picking it up she muttered a curse as she realised it was just reminding her that it was charged and that it was a waste of electricity to leave it plugged in. She huffed and sat up.

Swivelling to the edge of the bed she tugged her tank top straps off her shoulders and reached to the floor for the bra she had left there earlier in the evening. A few moments later she was pulling on a pair of jeans and some brown boots, and heading out the door.

At the last minute she remembered the chill in the air and snatched her leather jacket from the back of the chair it had been carelessly tossed over, not bothering to untuck her hair from beneath the collar.

...

_Knock knock._

Lester's eyes snapped open and he lay completely still, wishing the unwanted visitor away.

_Knock. Knockknockknockknock._

Tossing the covers off his body violently he walked heavily towards the door, hoping to give the interloper a few moments to realise he wasn't particularly happy with being woken at two in the morning. He flicked the deadbolt and wrenched the door open, not bothering to check the peephole.

"This better be good, mugging that lady hasn't exactly been great for my sleep pattern," he managed to spit out before his eyes fell on the figure on the other side of the door.

She was leaning against the door frame, pushing the cuticles back on her fingernails and thunking the toe of her boot against the baseboard.

"Steph."

"Hey." Her eyes shifted to meet his and her lips quirked. Pushing slowly away from the wall she stepped towards him until they stood toe to toe.

"Why are you outside my door at two in the morning?"

"Can't sleep."

Her eyes held his and she bit her lip. He gulped, his heart beat quickening in his chest. "And I can help you with that... how exactly?" His voice was raspy and he reached up behind his head, scratching his scalp for no particular reason. Stephanie's tongue flicked out of her mouth and ran across her bottom lip before being replaced again by her teeth.

They stood in silence for a few moments before either of them spoke.

"I should go..."

"Well are you going to come in?"

"Ummm..."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, slamming the door behind them and pressing her up against it. "You do know you're skating on thin ice here, don't you gorgeous?"

"I was thinking more along the line of …playing with fire," she murmured, voice husky and low.

He chuckled quietly, slipping his hands under the hem of her top and gripping her waist firmly. "Same difference."

"I don't think so. I would sure as hell rather be burning up than falling into freezing water." She poked her tongue out and glared at him, challenging him to take action. He dropped his hands and stepped back.

Stephanie frowned, and moved away from the door, tugging her jacket down her arms and releasing the still trapped curly mess from its leather prison. Lester had moved towards the kitchen, reaching for a glass in one of the cupboards, and Stephanie let out a small whimper at the sight of his lean but muscular back stretching towards the furthest shelf.

"You want a drink?" he asked as he set a large glass on the counter.

"Yeah," she replied hoarsely. Clearing her throat she headed to the kitchen, placing her jacket on the concrete top of the island along the way. Lester pulled a smaller glass from one of the lower shelves and filled it with water from the filter tap. "Why do I get the kiddie glass?"

He turned towards her as he filled the enormous vessel and frowned. "This is my special glass." His stance took a decidedly protective bearing and he snatched the cup away from the tap as soon as it had filled, holding it close to his chest.

"Fuck, you're such a child sometimes."

"Shut up."

"Les, could you please just... I don't know, chill the fuck out for a second and kiss me or something?"

He put the glass to his lips and drank, not stopping until it was empty. When he was finished he turned back to the sink and filled it again. Stephanie watched quietly, thinking better of pushing him when he was clearly in a strange mood. She took a gulp of her own water and made an involuntary sound of dismay when he turned towards the bedroom and began shuffling quietly to the door.

It wasn't until after she heard the distinctive  _clunk_  of the glass against his bedside table that a gruff voice drifted through the open doorway.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

She sighed and stomped towards the bedroom, holding the glass by the top and letting it dangle by her side as she moved.

"You know, you have to try a bit harder if you want me to fall at your feet, Santos. I'm not some trashy slut who-"

_Thud._

She jumped as the en suite door slammed shut. Opening her mouth to finish her sentence she paused as he tugged his thin tee shirt over his head. His hands moved to the waistband of his grey boxer briefs and he caught her eye once again.

"Take off your shirt."

Her mouth ran dry and she tossed back the remainder of the water in the small glass. "Take off your pants first."

Lester shrugged. "Okay."

Stephanie gulped. " _Waitwaitwait..._  okay what exactly is going on here?"

He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "I thought it was obvious. We're going to have hot non-committal sex to get whatever..." he waved his hand between the two of them " _this_  is out of our systems. Then we're going to go back to being co-workers, and you're going to go back to screwing Ranger."

Stephanie blinked in surprise at the eerily familiar words and walked over to the side of the bed to set the glass she was still holding down on the side table. She tugged her tank top over her head as she stood, and turning slowly, walked back to the middle of the room where Lester still stood, watching her intently.

"Fine. But no kissing," she huffed, hands on hips.

_"Fine."_

They continued to stare at each other for a few moments, both hesitant to make the first move. Eventually she slid her hands to the centre of her jeans, unsnapping the top button.

"Wait, this no kissing thing..." he started.

"What about it?"

"Well, how exactly do we go about well... you know."

"Spit it out, Santos."

"Well I'm kinda used to..."

Her hands were back on her hips and both her eyebrows were raised expectantly.

"..."

She turned her attention back to her pants, undoing the last three buttons and leaned over, quickly loosening the already undone laces of her boots and kicking them off in the vague direction of the bathroom door. Before she could right herself a warm body was pressed up against her backside, hands sliding into the waistband of her jeans. Slowly the hands slid down her legs, taking the tight denim with them, and she flicked them off her feet in the same direction as the boots.

He chuckled, sliding slowly back up her body and pulling her torso vertical again, her back resting against his chest.

"Why are you laughing?"

"In too much of a hurry to put on a pair of socks, huh?"

"Shut up."

"About the kissing..." his lips brushed against her earlobe and she whimpered a little.

"Mmmm...?"

"That's kind of how I get a girl wet enough to let me shove my fingers in her pussy. I'm shit at oral."

She burst out laughing and he grinned against her neck. "You're kidding, right?"

"I don't know, am I? You really want to take that risk?" His hand brushed over her stomach and came to rest on her breast, kneading the soft flesh roughly. She let out another involuntary noise and he pinched her nipple, encouraging a wavering groan to slip past her lips.

"You really want to miss out on the Lester Santos make out experience, Steph?" His other hand had slipped to her panties, sneaking under the thin Lycra. Sliding over her clit he dipped lower, manoeuvring his finger in the already slippery area. She turned suddenly as his wet finger made it back to  _that_  spot, catching his lips in hers, a little pissed off that he'd already done what he'd implied was impossible by barely touching her.

Lester pulled his hand awkwardly from between them and broke the kiss, instead slipping his fingers into his mouth.

"Wow."

Stephanie made a face. "That's it, you are  _definitely_ not getting any more kissing now."

"What? Why?" His lips were back against her neck, his hot breath snaking its way into her ear, and she found herself being backed up towards the wall opposite the foot of the bed.

"Because  _ew._ "

"Come on... are you trying to tell me you've never kissed a guy after he's had his tongue in your cunt?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, wow. We need to fix this problem  _now._ "

"No, Les please don't," she turned her face away from his, and his hand moved from her waist to the side of her face, forcing it back towards him. His lips slid from her ear to the corner of her mouth, eventually brushing against the forbidden area. She tried to move away again, but both his hands were gripping her, one tangled in her hair massaging her scalp in such a way that threatened to cause her bones to spontaneously disappear.

When his lips eventually pressed firmly against hers she was unable to do anything other than submit to him, meeting his slightly desperate and messy open mouthed kiss with her own. Tongues lingered against one another, and teeth scraped against puffy, swollen lips. Lester broke the embrace with a swipe of his tongue, running it in a vertical line from the tip of her chin back to her bottom lip and sucking the plump flesh between his own, releasing with a gentle smack.

Stephanie leaned back against the wall, breathing unevenly and suddenly very conscious of her lack of clothing. She ran a hand through her hair and frowned.

"This was a bad idea."

"Fuck, Steph what do you want me to say?" He stepped away from her, letting the cool air from the open window brush across her body. He smirked a little at the quick flush of goose flesh across her torso and his eyes lingered on the stiff nipples pressing hard against the thin fabric of her bra.

"I don't know."

"Can we just not say anything and get this over with, because my cock is so hard it fucking hurts." He smiled, this time neither a smirk nor a quirk of the lips, and tugged his underwear down his legs.

She bit her lip and reached behind her back, moving to remove her bra, eyes looking at the ceiling refusing to drift towards his groin. He righted himself slowly and his hand reached out and gripped her forearms, sliding them up the wall until they were above her head, wrists crossed and one palm resting against the other.

"Leave it."

She shivered at the burning fervour emanating from his eyes, his face stripped bare of the guarded yet cocky expression it had held previously as he embraced the intensity of the moment.

"Les, you're freaking me out here," she murmured as he leaned his forehead against her own.

"Why?" His lips were once again trailing down her neck, teeth scraping along the way.

"I don't know."

"You don't seem to know much," he chuckled as his hands slid under the straps of her bra, dragging them down her arms

"You...  _do_  things to me."

"Like what?"

"Uh..." His hands had moved to her waist and he lifted her, pressing her harder against the wall and forcing her legs to wrap around his torso, high enough for him to be able to easily brush the cup of her bra aside and latch onto a nipple. "Oh,  _fuck_."

"You have the most phenomenal tits, Plum."

Her head fell back and hit the wall hard, and she groaned. "Whatever, just... oh  _Jesus Christ_." His teeth bit down, and he pressed his stomach into her groin, the plain black underwear doing little to disguise the state he had managed to bring about beneath the fabric.

She ground herself hard against him, and his husky moan filled the room. His mouth let go of her breast, and his hands moved to her buttocks as he pulled them both away from the wall, moving towards the bed. Stephanie made a whimper of protest.

"What? No hot wall sex?"

"I am going to make you come so hard you'll forget there was even a fucking wall there," he muttered in her ear as he set her down on the floor, dropping to his knees he tugged her panties to the ground. He raised an eyebrow and looked up, a slow smirk spreading across his face as he met her defensive glare.

"What? Always be fucking prepared, right?"

"Sure... if you're a boy scout," he chuckled as his hands slid back towards her bare vagina, fingers teasing the soft flesh as he got back to his feet.

She giggled back as their gazes met, a heavy yet comfortable silence descending over them.

"I'm not sure I'm going to be okay with sending you back to Ranger, Steph." The growl was low in his throat and it made her shiver with the knowledge that this man was so consumed with desire for  _her_.

"Do you realize that you've contradicted yourself on everything you've said tonight?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because you  _do_ things to me."

She hit him hard on the shoulder and pushed him hard in the chest, knocking him back against the edge of the bed. He landed heavily and grinned as she straddled his hips, grinding her naked body into his.

"Let's just see where this takes us, huh?"

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a great idea."

...

_Ding_.

Stephanie gulped as the elevator door opened to reveal the frighteningly intense gaze of Ranger. She stepped in and hit the button for the ground floor, quickly following with a hard tap on the button to close the door.

"Hey."

"Hey," he replied, rather tersely.

"You heading out or-"

"Why aren't you in uniform?"

"My shift doesn't start for another hour and a half."

"Right."

Reaching into her handbag she pulled out her phone and started fiddling with the twitter application, hoping to avoid the inevitable awkward conversation at least until they reached the garage.

Her circumvention attempt, however, was thwarted when he hit the emergency stop button, bringing the car to an abrupt halt. He turned towards her and took a few steps closer, backing her up against the mirrored wall of the small enclosure.

"I'm guessing you spent the night getting shit out of your system?"

She shivered and brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, phone still tucked into one palm. "Who says I needed to get it out?"

"You really have no idea what you do to a man, do you babe?"

"Sure I do. It involves very little brain function and a hell of a lot of blood rushing to certain parts of the anatomy, although why the hell you are all so fixated on me-" her tirade was interrupted as his lips descended on hers, sucking and tugging in such a way that demanded she acquiesce to his talented tongue's demands.

The dance they performed was well practised, the encounters in the alley behind the bonds office helping to breed an air of confidence and slightly arrogant assurance that they each knew which buttons to push. Eventually she pulled her lips away from his and turned her face towards the elevator buttons, staring blankly at the one with the red glowing surround.

Reluctantly he disentangled himself from her limbs, desperately containing the desire to tug at her clothing, despite the knowledge that she had been with one of his employees just hours, or possibly minutes earlier.

"I'm sorry, Ranger."

She tossed her phone back into her bag and tugged the black strap back over her shoulder.

"You can have us both, you know."

She laughed and ran a hand through her thick curls, pressing the resume button with the other.

"You Rangemen are just full of contradictions aren't you?" Her head turned towards him and he grinned. "First you tell me you're not interested in me unless I ditch Morelli for the half a relationship you have to offer, now you tell me you're willing to share with  _Lester?"_

"Who says it wasn't just Morelli I had a problem with?"

Her eyebrow twitched, and she turned away again. "I  _know_ you had a problem with Morelli. You don't need to pose hypothetical questions for me to figure that one out." Confusion snuck into her voice, and she internally cursed the slight wavering in her confidence.

The elevator door opened, and they both stepped out, Ranger turning toward his car and reaching in his pocket for the remote.

"Lester and I could come to... an agreement."

She gulped and fished around in her handbag for her own cluster of keys. "Yeah, well I think you're realizing you shouldn't have let me head in the direction of the fourth floor. Your...  _authority_... doesn't extend to personal relationships, you know."

Placing a hand on her arm he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He ruffled her hair as he stepped away and casually waved his arm at the car, beeping it unlocked as he took the last few steps towards it. She frowned.

"Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?"

"Just think about it, okay?"

She swallowed noticeably and fiddled with her keys, completely devoid of any retort. He opened the car door and slipped inside, still looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Fuck you," she finally replied, and poked her tongue out childishly.

"I love you too, babe,"

The harsh growl of the Porsche engine filled the cavernous space and he drove off with a single finger wave and a smirk.

She stared after him, gears turning in her head, but her brain failing to comprehend exactly what had just happened. Eventually she turned to her own car and reluctantly trudged towards it, resisting the urge to head back to the fourth floor to analyze the conversation. Shaking her head she unlocked the car door and sat heavily in the drivers seat.

"I need some fucking doughnuts."

_End._

 


End file.
